Box Office Roundup- November Part 1
US Box Office
1. Thor: Ragnarok
The gods from Thor: Ragnarok prove who’s boss by ruling November’s Box Office chart so far by muscling in a staggering USD211.6 million, an amount that might just compete with the weight of Thor’s hammer. This actually makes it the 9th top movie of 2017 (eclipsing even Wonder Woman), and let’s not forget the movie has not finished its run. Clearly, going the more light-hearted route and have Hulk (Mark Ruffalo) utter more than a few grunts and growling “Hulk Smash” worked perfectly for Thor’s third outing. Taika Waititi’s (What We Do in the Shadows, Hunt for the Wilderpeople) Hollywood debut is far from Ragnarok, but more like a rousing success.
2. Daddy’s Home 2
Out of nowhere, Daddy’s Home 2 springs into 2nd place with an USD30million showing on its opening weekend, and shows us how Americans are ready for the Christmas Holidays. The sequel to Daddy’s Home follows brothers Brad and Dusty (Will Ferrell and Mark Wahlberg) as they deal with their fathers during the holiday. It’s sounding a lot like Bad Moms 2, but with a couple of guys with kids and their dads. The movie gives us two surprises: the first is that it’s even made at all since the first movie suffers from a serious lack of laughs and the second is how this sequel actually had a strong opening weekend showing despite negative reviews.
3. Murder on the Orient Express
An all-star cast usually does no wrong, as the 2nd runner-up for November’s Box Office Chart so far rakes in USD28.2 million since its release on the 3rd. The combined star power of Johnny Depp, Kenneth Branagh, Michelle Pfeiffer, Penelope Cruz, Daisy Ridley and more on a lavish train ride about 16 stranded passengers and one murder is one heck of an intriguing outing. Audiences care less about the storyline but more on the number of good-looking people on this mystery journey that sounds more like a Cluedo on a train and heck, how does one get a ticket on this groovy train? Plus, it’s nice to see Johnny Depp all cleaned up, instead of being stuck in that Pirate garb all the time.
Singapore Box Office
1. Thor: Ragnarok
Thor IS God, there’s no doubt about it. Chris Hemsworth and friends didn’t strike lightning, but gold, with USD1.39million with the local box office. It’s pretty clear Singaporeans are ardent Marvel fans. That and Hemsworth’s enormous biceps are reason enough for it to carry the movie to the top. Then, there’s the Loki (Tom Hiddleston) camp, who somehow prefer the pasty-skinned, dark-haired villain that turns out to be not too villain-like in this third Thor outing. And the whole “Get Help” scene… hilarious! If you have no idea what I’m talking about, you must be the 1% in this country that has not seen the movie.
2. My Little Pony: The Movie
Rainbow Dash, Twilight Sparkle, Fluttershy and their friends. If you are clueless what these names are, you clearly are not a parent of a little girl or do not have nieces who’d come to family gatherings holding a colourful pony in one hand and a brush in another, furiously engaged in pony grooming the entire time. The MLP (My Little Pony) game is strong in Singapore, evidenced by the movie’s 2nd place standing in the local Box Office charts, with USD160k. You can almost see hordes of parents wincing while they bring their little ones, all decked out in vibrant colours and clutching a pony in their hand, to catch this sugary sweet and colourful world of the MLP.
3. Jigsaw
“I want to play a game.” 13 years ago, we were riveted by this unusual horror movie, and we’re still intrigued now. Coming in 3rd place is a horror show that’s on the other extreme of My Little Pony, with USD135k. The jigsaw character may be dead a few movies ago, but that didn’t stop the movie franchise from spawning new sequels. We shouldn’t be too surprised, since Jason Voorhees from Friday the 13th would die in each instalment but the sequels keep springing up. The premise is the same this time round, Jigsaw is still out to get blood from people who’d done some wrong in their lives, but the torture tactics have changed. Would this be the absolute last instalment of the series? Well, it is. Until the next one comes along.
